Is Environmental Education Part of the Problem? Sobel Asks

“Ã¢â‚¬¦Environmental educators need to allow children to be Ã¢â‚¬Ëœuntutored savages.'”

That’s just one of the provocative points that David Sobel, core faculty member in the Department of Education, makes in an article he wrote for the July/August issue of Orion. “Look, Don’t Touch” parses some of the reasons why many children today are alienated from nature, and lays some of the blame on environmental education itself.

Orion’s website also includes a discussion between Sobel and Andrew Blechman, managing editor of Orion, about outdoor education and how to make nature exciting for children.

Read the Orion article and listen to the podcast of Sobel’s conversation with Blechman.